Stage 10 of the Cyril & Methodius trail, from Havlíčkův Brod to Přibyslav, via Pohled: 19 km

The Cyril & Methodius route is a series of interlinked hiking trails connected with the life and mission of the 9th century Byzantine missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. The route was established by the Council of Europe in 2021 and now comprises over 5,000 km of trails, spanning 10 countries. The Saints – who were brothers – are most famous for helping bring Christianity to the Slavic lands. They are most closely associated with the Great Moravian Empire, where Methodius became the first Archbishop.
The Czech Republic has six different Cyril & Methodius trails, all of which end at the pilgrimage site of Velehrad, in the eastern Moravian Zlín region. Velehrad was (in folk tradition) the seat of Methodius after he became archbishop. It is also the site of Moravia’s first Cistercian monastery. The Bohemian-Moravian trail runs for approximately 420 km between the site of the first Bohemian church, at Levý Hradec and Velehrad.
Like the previous stage of the long distance route, the tenth stage is relatively tranquil, with long sections beside the attractive Sázava river. It begins in historic Havlíčkův Brod, with its scenic town square, lined with Baroque and neo-Renaissance buildings and impressive medieval fortifications, and finishes in the town of Přibyslav, probably most famous as the place where the legendary Hussite general, Jan Žižka, died.
The main highlight of the route (apart from an exploration of the starting location, Havlíčkův Brod) is the visit to the historic village of Pohled, at approximately the halfway point of the stage. Pohled became important due to the foundation there, in the 13th century of a Cistercian monastery.
The monastery suffered at the hands of the Hussite and Swedish armies, and never fully recovered. The historic and evocative complex is, however, now slowly being repaired. Do not miss the huge new statue of the griffin in the park area, or the old rectory probably designed by the legendary Czech-Italian architect, Jan Blažej Santini. Two kilometers to the north of Pohled, the important pilgrimage site of Svatá Anna was established in the 18th century after the discovery of a miraculous spring. The Svatá Anna site is an optional (4 km) diversion from the main trail.
For those not aiming to complete the full Cyril and Methodius trail and wanting a shorter walk, then the 10 km section between Pohled and Přibyslav is the prettier and can easily be combined with a visit to the Svatá Anna site. Look out for the scenic medieval bridge halfway to Přibyslav.
The full stage is around 19 km in length, assuming a start and finish at the respective train stations, with approximately 150m of height to ascend and descend. The paths are all easy, mostly riverside or forest footpaths. There are various refreshments options at the end of the stage, in Přibyslav. Try the stylish café, PŘi.kafi (map point 5).

Directions

The route between Havlíčkův Brod and Přibyslav runs entirely along the RED hiking path. Only the segments to and from the stations deviate from the main RED trail (with the YELLOW trail taken in Havlíčkův Brod, and the BLUE trail in Přibyslav)